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"service history can mean nothing"

This is a great little car. It is very reliable, nice to drive (even if it sounds like a tractor) and I honestly can't remember when it was last filled up with diesel. Its got lots of cubby holes, cup holders and torage for tapes and maps and a great stereo. But, and you knew there was going to be a but didn't you. It just exists and thats it. I suspect that there isn't an owners club. I doubt anyone that owns one of these ever drives it just for the fun of driving it. It is, like a microwave, just another domestic appliance. It does exactly what is required of it. It never breaks. One thing to note is that this car was brought from a Mazda dealer who serviced it before we brought it. It was previously owned by Mazda themselves and had a full Mazda service history. When we took it to our trusted local mechanic for its 54000 mile service his opinion was that it had never been serviced and he showed us the air filter to prove it. If you buy one of these you will get a useful, reliable and economical car. But if you have it serviced by a main dealer, make sure you just check that the oil has been changed with the dipstick afterwards.